North Loop Neighborhood Association Board Meeting Notes June 28, :00 P.M. Heritage Landing Community Room, 415 1st Street North

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1 North Loop Neighborhood Association Board Meeting Notes June 28, :00 P.M. Heritage Landing Community Room, 415 1st Street North Attendees: Tim Bildsoe, Phil Ailiff, Scott Woller, Jeff Borg, Fred Dawe, Katie Day, and Mark Huting I. June Board Meeting called to order at 7:01 P.M.; those in attendance introduced themselves by stating their names and building of residence or business or employment in the neighborhood. Agendas are made available on the counter; a sign-up sheet for the ing list is also on the counter. II. III. IV. Motion is made by Phil, seconded by Tim, and unanimously approved by the Board to approve the Board meeting agenda. Motion is made by Phil, seconded by Scott, and unanimously approved by the Board to approve the minutes from the May meeting. Neighborhood Engagement North Loop Neighbors a. Holly from City Pages is promoting a dog event in the North Loop. Well-behaved dogs and their owners are welcome to the Hounds and Hops event, with dog-friendly vendors and food trucks, on September 23, 11:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M. Holly inquires about any opportunities to partner with the NLNA to promote the event and engage neighbors. Scott tells Holly about info@northloop.org and that the NLNA can set up a table at the event and sell t-shirts. She hopes to really get the word out for this first time event, so she will send a 60 words or less summary with photos to Scott to be included on the newsletter and e-blast. The event aims to be as North Loop-focused as possible and Holly hopes to engage nearby restaurants and establishments as well. Benefit proceeds go to Second Hand Hounds. b. Dr. Bates is opening a new dental practice in the neighborhood in the 5 th Avenue Lofts building (which used to house a CPA firm). The office is currently under construction and will be opening in September. Dr. Bates and his father already own and operate an office in Roseville. His approach to dentistry is personalized, attentive, and patient-focused. It is requested that Dr. Bate send his website and more information about his practice 1

2 (approximately 60 words) to Scott at Scott will include the information in the next newsletter. The practice will have a grand opening event (more information to follow) and is partnering with Second Hand Hounds. c. Tyler Morrison, board of nonprofit Dog Grounds, advocating for dog park with Aneesha Marwah. V. Council Member Engagement Jacob Frey a. CM Frey was not in attendance. VI. Finance Report Tim Bildsoe a. Tim has sent out an with account balances. VII. Secretary s Report Jeff Borg a. Jeff has nothing to report at this time. VIII. NLNA Priorities Committee Reports a. Planning & Zoning Fred Dawe i. NOLO Kitchen and Bar and Basement Bar 1. The ground floor restaurant and bar will have both inside and outside dining space; the basement will feature a second bar. The establishment aims to provide an affordable and approachable menu, centered around high-quality, local ingredients. The owner is also looking to partner with local organizations (Better Futures was suggested) for a mentoring program. 2. Specific mention of the ADA accessible ramp was made. 3. NOLO recognizes the issue of parking and the importance of valet service, especially at lunchtime. It will have some assigned stalls in the surface lot next to the building. 4. A motion is made by Tim, seconded by Mark, and approved unanimously by the Board to provide a letter in support of the restaurant s and bar s applications for liquor licenses. ii. Committees some P&Z committee members want to be more engaged in specific initiatives, communications being discussed the most. If any Board members need more help or volunteers, please let Fred know. b. Community Engagement Scott Woller i. The new signs are in and they are a third larger than the existing ones displayed. They have a dark charcoal background and the NL logo. ii. National Night Out at Target Station Scott shows a mock-up ad for this year using previous years events as an example. The Twins will sponsor a balloon artist and face painting, but now may not provide hot dogs as originally contemplated. Corner Coffee and Corner Church are buying the license to show the Secret Life of Pets. Scott suggests the Board be present with the table and banner setup and sell t-shirts; there will be 5-10 other organizations there tabling as well. The food falls outside of CPP money, but maybe the Board can use some of those funds to invest in the event programming, as this is one of the greatest engagement opportunities of the year, with over 90% of attendees hailing from walking distance. A motion to donate up to $500 to National Night 2

3 Out is made by Tim, seconded by Mark, and approved unanimously by board. iii. The bike service station should be completed and operating within 3 to 7 days. T3 is currently rewriting a small portion of the contract stipulating that if the owner decides to put something else, such as a piece of public art, in the service station s location, the owner would provide the Board with 60 days-notice to relocate the station. The station is durable and can be moved and re-located multiple times. The station has been purchased with NRP funds. iv. The last trash pick-up day, on June 10, was very successful! Much of the participation was from corporations that had sent employees. Sunrise Banks want to participate in the next one. Scott suggests July 15. Scott will send out the notice. c. North Loop Website Diane Merrifield i. There is no update, as Diane is not present; however, she did send out the report via earlier in the week. d. Neighborhood Revitalization Program Robert Thompson, City of Minneapolis i. The City has a new 3-year program and is using its rollout as an opportunity for site visits to check in with the associations. ii. Scott asks about renter engagement; Robert suggests working with property owners and management companies to host lemonade stands in or near building lobbies and elevators. Having a variety of events is very important. Scott mentions a legitimate barrier to renter participation I ll only live here for two years, so I can stick it out and put up with things that I don t like for that long or I can t contribute substantially because I ll only be here two years. Open Streets was a great example of successful engagement, as many people of all walks of like attended and participated. iii. Stevens Square s association has a great approach. It is one of the most densely populated neighborhoods and has a large renter population as well. It has a volunteer-staffed block patrol whose participants wear bright yellow, recognizable t-shirts. They have found that the more involved residents are with the neighborhood association, the more likely they are to remain in the neighborhood. The association has asked property owners to include association application and information with apartment application and leasing materials; a rental rebate is also offered by some for volunteering for the block patrol. iv. Scott mentioned that when meeting with property management companies, that building tenants and residents are provided with materials connecting them to the NLNA. v. The public hearing for reallocation of funds to the YouthLink is being held in July. An will be sent to the NLNA membership at least 30 days before the board meeting, the public hearing notice will be posted on our website and listed on the July agenda. e. North Loop Businesses Andy Risvold i. There is no update. f. Parks and Beautification Mark Huting i. The Washington Avenue tree project is now approximately $15,000 short due to new soil requirements. Requests are out for funding support. ii and 2017 planted trees have been catalogued and the City has watered them twice free of charge (usually $8.00 per tree). A program needs to be determined for future watering. The trees are looking to be in good shape. iii. The Washington Avenue and 2 nd Street connection project through the NL Fitness building is progressing well, with Mark having had a successful phone 3

4 call with some key players and HGA creating an artist rendering this month to use for fundraising activities. The idea of a moss wall, which provides as much oxygen as 25 trees, has also been considered. iv. Mark met with MNDOT and it has approved the final rendering of the NL monument. Perhaps the LED lights can be built into the sign; Fred has a lighting contact. The goal is to complete part of the planting process this fall. v. Aneesha Marwah, Dog Grounds 1. The current dog park will need to relocated, as it is private property slated for future development. 2. The land being considered is a City-owned parcel on the southwest side of the street, at the intersection of 10 th and 6 th, underneath the highway. The parcel is about feet wide and 1,450 feet long. Public Works is assessing the land to see if a dog park use is acceptable. 3. Plans are for the area to include a dog run and an elevated pedestrian walkway. Something similar to the Loring Park dog park is highly desired, but dog grass is very expensive, as may be the amount of fencing required for this size and shape of land (anywhere from $100,000- $200,000). 4. Aneesha asks for a letter of support to go to City sometime in the future. The NLNA is on board. She also asks about the possibility of Dog Grounds and the NLNA fundraising together. The suggestion is also made that perhaps park dedication fees from development in the neighborhood might be able to be directed to this park. g. Neighborhood Safety Phil Ailiff i. There has been an increase in bike thefts, with thieves seemingly targeting highend bikes. The City is aware of the situation and is putting more resources toward fighting the rash of thefts. ii. The next Block Club meeting has not been set, as there has been no answer from Phil s contact, Renee. He will reach out to her again, as well as others. iii. One of Phil s fellow PAC members has submitted a proposal for a mobile workshop for the Walk Summit this fall; Phil would like to as well, with his focusing on the North Loop neighborhood, how it expanded so rapidly, was able to bring a school to the residents, its focus on transit, etc. iv. The next PAC meeting is Wednesday, July 10 from 4:00 to 6:00 P.M. in City Hall, Room 333. All people are welcome. v. First Precinct Court Watch meeting has been cancelled for July. The next is August 11 at 10:00 A.M. at the County Library. vi. Mark suggests meeting with the Warehouse District association to talk about panhandling and crime on Hennepin Avenue. Tim has already been in contact with the association and will ask Joann to the next board meeting. h. Infrastructure Tim Bildsoe i. Road improvements requested by the NLNA are moving through the City s approval process. The City will be updating the board/community in July. IX. Unfinished Business a. The contract with the marketing agency has been approved; the contract is between the company and the developers/property owners who are paying for the materials. b Partners is the group that first connected with this recruiter. A fee of $3,000 is charged for membership. The NLNA participated last year and membership is recommended again. There s a significant return on the investment in membership. A 4

5 motion is made by Jeff, seconded by Fred, and approved unanimously by the Board to approve the membership renewal for 2020 Partners and pay up to $3,000 in membership fees. X. New Business a. Tim suggested that we start planning the annual meeting that will occur in January, Some neighbors have already reached out to him to volunteer. Scott will start looking at potential venues. XI. The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, July 26, 2017 at 7:00pm. Adjourned at 8:30 P.M. 5